As someone who deals with various mental health issues including anxiety and depression, every now and again I make it my priority to have a date with myself; aka, a Self Care Day.

Finding the time for me to do this is rarely the issue, but actually taking a break and doing it seems to be the difficult part. It’s the same with most things that are good for you, isn’t it?

Anyway, I’m trying to do this once a week while I recover from various anxieties – taking a whole day to chill out and ignore work for a while. Some days it’s difficult, others it’s a total blessing. But always necessary and I never regret it.

Journalling

If you read my last post you’ll know that I journal a lot anyway, but on self care days I make it a priority to get everything that’s in my head down on the paper. This can be in the form of a ‘Today I feel’ kind of paragraph, or I personally find it really helpful to do a spider diagram with short bullet points so that I don’t miss anything in my fast moving mind. Whatever is floating around get’s written down or drawn.

Meditation

Ah, here it is. The thing I know that is so good for me, and so helpful, and yet it I put it off so often. On a self care day I try and do 10 minutes of meditation at least once. Hopefully more. Reconnect and check in.

Tidy Your Space + De-clutter

I cannot work properly if the space around me is in chaos. Putting things away when they belong, doing a bit of cleaning, or even decluttering your wardrobe makes a big difference to how I feel mentally. If my space is tidy then often so is my mind. These kind of things often get put the side on busy days or bad mental health days so take some time to make your space super comfortable to be in.

Laundry

Similar to the above – get the job off your mind and get a fresh smelling wardrobe and home all at the same time. Ahhhhh it’s done and it feels great.

Podcasts, Reading + Music

I like to lose myself in something, to tune out for a bit. The great thing about podcasts and reading though is that it doesn’t involve a screen and hopefully the the temptation to just check twitter or work emails just wont be there.

Exercise

That yoga you’ve been putting off? You’ve got the whole day ahead of you to relax and work on you so roll out the mat. Whatever exercise you like doing, work it into your Self Care Day. I like getting outside too, even if it’s just a potter into town.

Shower, Baths + General Pampering

Getting clean is such a good feeling and I always feel so fresh and ready to take on the world a bit more after a good shower. Use the fancy soap and the expensive face mask. Paint your nails. Pluck your eyebrows; do whatever makes you happy with how you look and feel that you generally don’t have the time to do.

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You can do all of the above or just hand pick a few that work for you – the important thing is you take the time every now and again to focus on you.